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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, occurs after an individual is exposed to disturbing events outside the realm of human experience. Prevalence is as high as 60% amongst combat veterans. The individual re-experiences the event through intrusive recollections, nightmares, flashbacks, or intense distress when exposed to reminders of the event. The patient may have feelings of detachment, amnesia, emotional numbing, restricted affect or active avoidance of thoughts that may be reminders of the trauma. Known occurances The Boss (The Joy) was forced to kill her lover in order to protect their son. This probably caused PTSD. Prior to The Fury's death, in the underground tunnel beneath Groznyj Grad, he began to relive his memories of the disastrous spaceflight mission in which he received his burns, before launching himself into the ceiling with his jetpack. In 1970, FOX operative Python revealed to Naked Snake that he constantly suffered from nightmares, due to having killed many people, during the "wetworks" missions he undertook for the CIA. Trained as an Anti-Snake Soldier, he believed he could end his nightmares by killing his former comrade. Also, Elisa mentioned to Snake that the memories of the Kyshtym Disaster that killed her parents still haunted her in her dreams. Similarly, at the beginning of the mission, Naked Snake also suffered a nightmare relating to his capture by the FOX unit. Big Boss was a possible sufferer of PTSD, as he constantly experienced flashbacks to his killing of The Boss, profusely sweating whenever he heard The Boss's voice, or when the Mammal Pod referred to him as "Jack." Also, Militaires Sans Frontières personnel would be sent to Mother Base's sick bay, if they ever began to experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In addition, Paz Ortega Andrade, at least in her act as a schoolgirl, also was implied to have suffered from PTSD as a result of her torture from Hot Coldman at Puerto del Alba. Ground Zeroes The sniper team duo Glaz and Palitz ended up self-mutilating their eye and finger, respectively in an attempt to eliminate their past, largely due to the drugs and therapy not being enough to soothe them, implying that they suffered from intense PTSD for their actions during the Laotian Civil War.Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Kojima Productions (2014) Kazuhira Miller: We searched the two targets and Palitz you recovered. One of them Glaz had a glass eye, the other Palitz a prosthetic index finger. Looks like all the therapy and drugs couldn't help them forget the war. They resorted to self-mutilation. But you can't cut off your name. Just like us... they were human. This is revealed in the post-credits debriefing if the player extracted the targets instead of assassinating them in the Side Op Eliminate the Renegade Threat. Paz, while unconscious when Big Boss rescued her from the Admin Building at the United States Naval Prison Facility in Cuba, often giggled, said "stop it!", and "my stomach, my stomach has" strongly implying that she was having nightmares relating to XOF's brutal torture on her. After Operation Intrude N313, Solid Snake began to suffer from recurring nightmares regarding the incident. He undertook Operation Intrude F014, in an attempt to rid himself of them,Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Konami Corporation (1990). Solid Snake: "I came to get rid of the nightmares I've been having for the past three years. ... I've only got one fight left. To free myself of your grip, to rid myself of these nightmares... Big Boss, I will defeat you!" and after succeeding in his mission, he believed this had come to pass.Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Konami Corporation (1990). Roy Campbell: "Good work, Snake. Have you thought about... coming back to the unit?" // Solid Snake: "...The nightmares have stopped. I'm a free man now." // Campbell: "I see... that's too bad." Big Boss, however, believed that the nightmares could never go away once a soldier has them.Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Konami Corporation (1990). Solid Snake: "I came to get rid of the nightmares I've been having for the past three years. // Big Boss: "The nightmares? They never go away, Snake. Once you've been to the battlefield, tasted the exhileration, the tension... it all becomes part of you." When Snake noticed that Meryl Silverburgh was acting strangely, he contacted Nastasha Romanenko, to which she theorized that she was most likely suffering from the effects of PTSD, as she had a friend who suffered through that same disorder from fighting in Chechnya and taking his own life six months later.Nastasha: You found Meryl. Harasho! Snake: Meryl is acting kind of strange... Nastasha: It could be the stress of battle. ...I have a friend who had Chechan Syndrome. He became depressed six months after returning from Chechnya and took his own life. He was forced to fight people who spoke his own language...people with his own culture. He couldn't live with the guilt of it... Snake: It sounds like PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. A lot of veterans returning from Vietnam suffered from that...in fact, many still do. Nastasha: Yes, it is also similar to the Afghan Syndrome. In Meryl's case, it is probably a much more short-term condition... Try to cheer her up. She'll come out of it. Snake: Meryl is definitely not herself. Could she be dragged? Also, in her novel account of the events of the Shadow Moses Incident, In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth, Nastasha speculated that Gray Fox's reactions to Naomi Hunter, as well as his consistently going to the battlefields with Big Boss, were derived from PTSD gained as a child soldier.Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001) "We may have looked like a happy little family, but I was terrified every time she looked me in the eye -- that she would see the truth. Tell her for me, will you? Tell her that I'm the one who took her family from her, not you." (Page 244) Many former child soldiers are permanently traumatized by their horrific war experiences. It was possible that Gray Fox's compulsions -- whether it be taking in his victims' orphaned child or returning again and again to the battlefields with Big Boss -- had its roots in his childhood scars. ::In the Darkness of Shadow Moses The Unofficial Truth by Nastasha Romanenko. Raiden, a former child soldier in the Liberian Civil War, constantly had terrible nightmares relating to his suppressed memories of his involvement as a child, making him fearful of the night. This also serves as the primary reason why Raiden also won't allow people to keep him company in his room, not even Rosemary.Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001) Raiden: Terrible nightmares -- every night. I can never forget... // Rose: Jack... // Raiden: I'm afraid of the night. That's why I don't sleep next to you. In addition, Solid Snake also frequently experienced nightmares relating to the Shadow Moses Incident, including his fight with Liquid on REX, one of his nightmares also being witnessed by Raiden while he was watching Pliskin sleep.Raiden: He's -- asleep? How much longer is this guy going to sleep...? Wish I were that relaxed... // Pliskin/Snake: ...mumble mumble... // Raiden: ...he's still sleeping... // Pliskin/Snake: Liquid!! Solid Snake later experienced persistant nightmares of his previous mission to Shadow Moses. Furthermore, Snake theorized that Rat Patrol member Johnny Sasaki suffered from PTSD, and noted that the SOP System should logically counteract its effects.This was later explained when it was revealed Johnny had no nanomachines inside his body; the SOP System had no control over him. All four members of the Beauty and the Beast Unit (Laughing Octopus, Raging Raven, Crying Wolf, and Screaming Mantis) were also known to suffer from PTSD, being either witnesses and victims to, or participants of, horrible war crimes. Raiden's PTSD also worsened as a result of regaining his memories, which resulted in him heavily drinking, getting into fights, and eventually leaving Rose. During Raiden's emergency surgery, Raiden frequently flashed back to his days as a child soldier at Liberia. In addition, he also continued to go exclusively by the codename of Raiden due to his real name, Jack, reminding him too much about his painful past as a child soldier. It's also strongly implied that Raiden's PTSD dating back to his actions in Liberia had him develop a murderous split personality called Jack the Ripper. Soldiers who have experienced PTSD *The Fury *Big Boss *Python *Solid Snake *Gray Fox *Elisa *Raiden *Laughing Octopus *Raging Raven *Crying Wolf *Screaming Mantis *Psycho Mantis *Johnny Sasaki *Pacifica Ocean Behind the scenes Marionette Owl, from the non-canon game Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, claimed that he frequently relived the traumatic event of witnessing Laura's remains strewn across a field after she was murdered by a serial killer in his sleep up to his death. Notes and references Category:Misc